Thursday, December 12, 2013

Tis the season! The season for caring and sharing and visiting and spoiling and partying and playing and loving and laughing and indulging! There's nothing like it. And it all goes by in a flash!

Somewhere, once all the merriment starts to wind down a little, we start to think about the coming new year and all that promises. New beginnings! Fresh starts! I'm gonna do this and this and that in the new year!

One thing I want to do in 2014 is another 365 project. I did my first one in 2012 and it went surprisingly well. I was able to take a picture every day but 2. Actually every day but 1 since 2012 was a leap year and I had 364 pictures, but who's that technical! (don't be like me!)

At the end of 2012 I mistakenly thought I was done. I thought I would never do THAT again! Yes, some days were hard. Some days I discovered that inspiration was lacking more than time was running out! How many pictures of my yard and house do I really need anyway? I felt I was in a rut and was taking pictures of the same thing over and over. Then I had the light bulb moment when a voice said "so what!" That, in itself, is the essence of what I was doing! The things that were so familiar to me didn't look exactly the same from day to day. The things that were so familiar to me could be photographed in different ways, from different angles, in different light, in full color or B&W, with a different lens, with different settings on the camera, with a different camera, the list goes on and on. This was when I realized just how much I was learning by taking a photo a day. Everyday.

When you look at a calendar and see 12 months stretching before you, or you think about the fact that a year is three hundred sixty five days it is easy to become discouraged. But if you think that it's just one photo a day, it becomes manageable. Just one photo a day. If you know that the daily practice of challenging yourself to photograph what you see in new and different ways will teach you new things and that it will teach you to see in new ways, it becomes something you look forward to.

Because I participated in a 365 project, my DSLR is always in reach! It usually accompanies me when I leave my humble abode but when it doesn't my trusty camera that rings and can be used to send text messages is in my pocket!

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Yes, yes,, yes! I so want to do this again! I did Project Life in 2010 and 2011 and then in 2012 I made it to April and it just fizzled. I didn't do one in 2013 but I am all set to do it again in 2014, with my album ready to start dropping photos in on January 1. I completely agree that challenging yourself to shoot a photo every day, and to keep it fresh and different, really helps improve your photography. I know how much I learned in Tracey Clark's Picture classes, not because she was teaching anything revolutionary but because it forced me to shoot every day for the duration of the class. I could actually see my photos getting better and better as time went by. Now with the addition of my iPhone, I have no excuse not to shoot every day -- that camera is always at the ready. This is going to be fun and I hope everyone will join in the new Flickr group so we can share this adventure together!

Since I'm in the middle {literally} of a 365 which I started on July 1 {who says you have to start on January 1?}, I have signed up and posted a photo each day. Yes, some days I'm not fully satisfied or really proud of what comes down but some days are just like that, ya know? But I can attest to what Terri said: shooting every day really does hone your photographic skills and sharpen your photographic eye. It's going to be fun. And we will encourage one another. Thank you, Linda, for taking the initiative on this.

as a first time 365-er, linda i can honestly say i know exactly what you mean. sometimes in a rather uninspired day i have found myself taking photos of doorknobs or my kitchen faucet. and the funny thing is that those photos have become some of my favorites. because it's my surroundings. so familiar and ordinary. but they are mine. this photo-a-day has become my way of celebrating my ordinary life. a to me, taking a photo everyday has become a habit. like brushing my teeth. i love it. so happy to know that next year i'll have you along on hte journey!

I'm in...I mean if I can take pictures of faucets and doorknobs :O) I would love to feel the accomplishment of being able to commit to this and then see it through to the end! Something I think is very possible with you guys along side!

Thank you for saying that it is all right to take photos of the same thing. I see so many shots all over the web of gorgeous or unique settings but where I live there isn't that kind of opportunity for different shots. I have taken so many pictures of my home over the years. I blog daily and sometimes I think my readers are tired of the same pictures of the interior and exterior of my house and the local duck pond. For Christmas I got s DSLR and can't wait to learn how to use it ut I know it's not the camera that makes the picture so my goal for this year is to get out of my comfort zone and look for unique angles and places

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